City of Cleveland history

Cleveland, city, seat (1810) of Cuyahoga county, northeastern Ohio, United States It is a major St Lawrence Seaway port on the southern shore of Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Cuyahoga River.

Although the settlement was located near Lake Erie, the population did not grow significantly until after the War of 1812.

In 1813, Cleaveland saw the arrival of Walk-in-the-Water, the first steamship on Lake Erie.

Ohio City—or the “City of Ohio” as it was known at its 1818 founding—was originally a part of Brooklyn Township.

On January 6, 1831, the Cleveland Advertiser newspaper dropped the first "a" from the name, in order to fit it onto its masthead.

He founded and laid out the town of Cleaveland. (In 1832 an a in Cleaveland was dropped to shorten a newspaper’s masthead.)

Austin Powder has been making explosives since 1833.

Cleveland incorporated as a city in 1836.

In 1837 the city was reported to have 4 iron foundries making steam engines and other products, 3 soap and candle works, 2 breweries, a window-sash factory, 2 ropewalks, a pottery, 2 carriagemakers, 2 millstone shops, and a large flour mill under construction.

End Of The Commons General Store, 1840

The Cleveland Iron Mining Co. was founded in 1846 by a group of investors led by Samuel L. Mather.

Cliffs Natural Reources (Cleveland Cliffs), 1847

The first railroad arrived in 1851, connecting Cleveland with Columbus, the state capital.

When St Marys Falls Canal (Soo Canal) between Lakes Superior and Huron was opened in 1855, Cleveland became Lake Erie’s transshipment point for lumber, copper and iron ore, and rail shipments of coal and farm produce.

James A. Garfield, who later became the 20th president of the United States, served as pastor of Franklin Circle Christian Church in 1857.

The petroleum-refining industry developed rapidly after the first American oil well was drilled at Titusville, in northwestern Pennsylvania, in 1859.

In turn, the Cleveland clothing industry, already the city's 3rd-largest producer of goods (by value) in 1860, became a major consumer of sewing machines.

The Grasselli Co. of Cincinnati established a Cleveland works in 1866 specifically to supply sulfuric acid to refineries, but in succeeding years it supplied a wide range of industrial chemicals.

Henry Sherwin and Edward Williams joined in 1870 to form a paint-manufacturing company (SHERWIN-WILLIAMS), and 10 years later they introduced a ready-mixed paint, which found immediate success.

Schantz Organ Company, 1873

Francis H. Glidden organized his company in 1875 and based its sales on varnishes and enamels.

In 1880, twenty-eight percent of Cleveland's workforce found work in the steel mills.

Cleveland developed rapidly throughout the second half of the 19th century and by 1890 was the 10th largest city in the country.

Acme Fresh Markets, 1891

Jones Day Cleveland, the law firm's first office, has grown to more than 200 lawyers since it first opened its doors in 1893.

In 1894, Euclid Beach Park opened.

John C. Lincoln founded The Lincoln Electric Co. with all of $200 in 1895.

The J.M. Smucker Company, 1897

Cleveland boasted 3 of the earliest manufacturers of each type: ALEXANDER WINTON (gasoline), WALTER BAKER (electric), and ROLLIN WHITE and the White Co. (steam). A Winton sold in 1898 is often claimed to be the first American automobile made for the open market.

Great Lakes Towing, 1899

Explosives workers in 1900 stand outside a Glenwillow plant of the Austin Powder Company.

Along with some other Cleveland companies, Otis and the Cleveland Rolling Mill eventually joined the United States STEEL CORP., formed in 1901.

EY is the result of a series of mergers of ancestor organizations, that includes the firm of Ernst & Ernst that was started in Cleveland in 1903 by Alwin C. Ernst and his brother Theodore.

E. F. Boyd & Son Funeral Home, Inc., 1905

From the establishment of the National Electric Lamp Assn. laboratories at NELA PARK (1911) and the National Carbon industrial research facility at about the same time, Cleveland business supported research leading to new technologies.

A photo of the Board Of Directors for GE in 1912, a year after GE Lighting was founded in Cleveland.

Cleveland became a leader in cultural and social activities in northern Ohio during the late 1800s and the early 1900s. It changed its name in 1915 to the Cleveland Indians.

The Rider family sold it in 1920 to the second of only six owners in the company’s history.

The flight of the latest product of the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corp plant in 1928, was watched by thousands when the Akron-made helium yacht, the Puritan, flew over City Hall in Cleveland. (Plain Dealer Historical Photograph Collection)

Cleveland's industry came to the end of its period of rapid growth by 1930.

In 1931 the United States Census of the Cleveland metropolitan area (including Cuyahoga and Lorain counties) ranked it 8th nationally by the number of industrial employees, and 7th by value of its products.

Later the federal government's Lewis Laboratory (1941) and the facilities of Case Institute of Technology became important sites for pioneering development.

The Cleveland Browns professional football team was formed in 1946.

The city's population peaked at almost one million people in 1950.

In 1952, Alan Freed, a Cleveland disc jockey, coined the phrase "rock 'n' roll." The first ever Rock 'n' Roll concert was the Moondog Coronation Ball, held in Cleveland on March 21, 1952.

Anton’s son, Tony Sr., helped expand the vineyard in the late 1960’s, according to the family.

In 1968, the Ohio City Redevelopment Association was chartered to stem the tide of blight and neglect in the historic neighborhood.

In addition, environmental pollution became severe, a condition infamously highlighted by a June 1969 fire on the Cuyahoga River caused by floating chemical wastes.

In 1971, Tony Sr. and his son, Tony, began their journey as commercial winemakers, in the Lake Erie and Grand River Valley regions.

Debonne Vineyards was founded as a winery in 1972 with the construction of a winemaking facility and a charming Chalet.

By 1986 blue-collar employment represented only 29% of the total employment in Cuyahoga, Lake, Medina, and Geauga counties.

Recent rehabilitation projects have focused on commercial development, including expanded storefront renovation, multi-million-dollar renovation of the West Side Market, and an RTA station built in 1992.

The photo is a recreation of Jacob's original cart (to American Greetings knowledge, no photos of the original cart exist) that was built for our 100th anniversary in 2006.

The photo is held up after a time capsule buried 100 years ago at GE's Lighting's Nela Park world headquarters was opened Monday, March 26, 2012, in Cleveland.

His son, William Boyd Sr., took over the business until his death in 2014, two months before his 100th birthday.

The center, expected to open in 2017, will focus on training welding educators and industry leaders.